Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. A while back, I got this cookie cutter.
It’s the Fred and Friends Gingerdead Men Cookie Cutter/Stamps , and it’s under 7 bucks on Amazon! F&F has all kinds of fun and funny gadgets that will make you smile, some for the kitchen, some for entertaining, and many for around the house.
I knew I wanted to make a chocolate pumpkin cookie dough for these. I figured it would be nice and dark, showing off the frosting well.
Little did I know, when I bought it, that I would also be baking gluten free. While that’s had it’s own share of challenges, I did figure out this recipe.
Cookie Recipe
- Name: Chocolate Pumpkin Gingerdead Men Cookies
- Recipe Type: Cookie
- Cuisine: GF, VG
- Author: ScrapDeli.com
- Prep time: 20 mins
- Cook time: 15 mins
- Total time: 35 mins
- Yield: 9 cookies
Ingregients:
- 2 cups GF flour mix
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum (if it is not already in the flour mix)
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup vegan shortening
- 1 teaspoon MacNut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup Coconut Secret coconut crystals
- 1/4 cup Organic dark brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons golden flax meal whisked with 4 tablespoons of water
Instructions:
- Whisk the cacao powder, baking powder and seasonings all together in a bowl.
- Put the shortening, Mac Nut oil and vanilla in the bowl for the stand mixer. Beat for one minute until thoroughly blended.
- Add the sugars to the mixer bowl. Beat on medium high speed until well mixed and fluffy.
- Add the pumpkin and flax egg replacement to the mixing bowl. Beat on medium high speed until well incorporated.
- Spoon about 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time into the mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy each time you add flour.
- When all of the flour has been incorporated, remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. Push all of the mixture together in a mound in the center of the bowl.
- Refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Cut parchment paper rectangles to fit your cookie sheets.
- Place one piece of parchment paper on your rolling surface. Put half of the dough on the paper and cover with a sheet of wax paper. Roll out the dough to cover the parchment.
- Cut out shapes and remove the dough from around them.
- Repeat with remaining dough until it’s all used.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or until firm, but still a little soft in the middle.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
Notes:
A lighter GF flour mixture is recommended for this recipe, for example one that is rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca starch should work well.
The flax/water mixture is the egg replacement in this recipe.
You can use all dark brown sugar or all Coconut Crystals, any combination will work.
If you want to refrigerate the dough over night, pile the dough in the center of a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap it up well, and place in the refrigerator until the next day.
Here’s my setup.
The dough is a bit sticky, so the wax paper helps a lot for rolling it out.
I had a bit of trouble cutting out the cookies and stamping them. I ended up putting the rolled out dough back into the refrigerator for a few minutes before cutting, and before stamping to make it firmer. As you can see on the cooling cookies below, I got enough of the image on them to see where the icing should go.
Now I had another dillema, how would I make Royal Icing without the eggs and sugar that are normally used in it? This is what I ended up doing.
Icing Recipe
- Name: Cashew Icing
- Recipe Type: Frosting
- Cuisine: VG, GF
- Author: ScrapDeli.com
- Prep time: 12 hours
- Cook time: 10 mins
- Total time: 12 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 1-1/2 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup So Delicious coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar
Instructions:
- Soak cashews in the filtered water for at least 12 hours.
- After soaking, drain cashews and place them in the blender jar with all the other ingredients.
- Process at high speed until completely smooth and creamy.
Notes:
Leftover icing can be frozen until needed. Defrost in refrigerator.
Put icing in a squeeze bottle to make it easier to control when painting cookies.
Icing does not stay “white” on cookies. It will soak in a bit, and act more as a glaze.
It worked well in the squeeze bottle for painting the skeleton.
However, the next morning, after being in the refrigerator over night, it looks like this.
It’s interesting, but not what I originally had in mind. But… I did discover that it will glow under a black light! That works if you’re having a spooky, haunted house party!
So that’s pretty cool!
Conclusion
I had additional challenges when making these, as I discovered that my oven, which I had set at 350 degrees, was actually only 200 degrees. So you’ll notice that some of the cookies have almost burned feet in the picture of them on the cooling rack. That’s because I ended up cranking up the temperature of the oven too high to compensate.
I guess I had better call the repair men.
For my taste, I’m going to increase the cinnamon and nutmeg to 1/2 teaspoon, and add 1/4 teaspoon of allspice to this next time. I think it will give the flavor more punch.
Over all, the cookies aren’t too sweet, which is fine with me. They also aren’t strongly chocolate or pumpkin, just yummy.
I will make these again, using different shapes for Thanksgiving and Christmas… when the oven is fixed!
Enjoy!
Yield
9 cookies
Prep Time
20m
Cook Time
15m
Equipment Required
Ingredients2 cups GF flour mix 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum (if it is not already in the flour mix) 1⁄4 cup cacao powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon 1⁄4 teaspoon ginger 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg pinch salt 1⁄2 cup vegan shortening 1 teaspoon MacNut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla 1⁄4 cup Coconut Secret coconut crystals 1⁄4 cup Organic dark brown sugar, packed 3⁄4 cup pumpkin 2 tablespoons golden flax meal, whisked with 4 tablespoons of water |
DirectionsWhisk the cacao powder, baking powder and seasonings all together in a bowl. Put the shortening, Mac Nut oil and vanilla in the bowl for the stand mixer. Beat for one minute until thoroughly blended. Add the sugars to the mixer bowl. Beat on medium high speed until well mixed and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and flax egg replacement to the mixing bowl. Beat on medium high speed until well incorporated. Spoon about 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time into the mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy each time you add flour. When all of the flour has been incorporated, remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. Push all of the mixture together in a mound in the center of the bowl. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Cut parchment paper rectangles to fit your cookie sheets. Place one piece of parchment paper on your rolling surface. Put half of the dough on the paper and cover with a sheet of wax paper. Roll out the dough to cover the parchment. Cut out shapes and remove the dough from around them. Repeat with remaining dough until it’s all used. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or until firm, but still a little soft in the middle. Cool on a cooling rack. NotesA lighter GF flour mixture is recommended for this recipe, for example one that is rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca starch should work well. The flax/water mixture is the egg replacement in this recipe. You can use all dark brown sugar or all Coconut Crystals, any combination will work. If you want to refrigerate the dough over night, pile the dough in the center of a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap it up well, and place in the refrigerator until the next day. |
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